Parsons Students Take on Textile Scrap Design Challenge

Parsons students ventured out to Materials For The Arts‘ (MFTA) Long Island City warehouse to participate in a textile strap design challenge on April 13th. The challenge: help MFTA come up with a design that uses textile scraps to make something innovative and useful.The average American disposes of 75 pounds of textiles each year, but only 15% of those are recycled. MFTA is seeking to increase the amount of textiles that are recycled in New York City by coming up with useful ways to use textile scraps. Parsons students were challenged to think about the scraps they were working with in a 3-dimensional way, and to consider what people use on a regular basis that could be replaced by an item made out of recycled textiles.

The students made Parsons proud with their creative designs ranging from baby bibs and mobiles to collapsible moving boxes and tent-like shelters. Other designs were lanterns, bags, coasters, an iPhone sling, ear muffs, beach mats, a baseball mitt, and surgical masks.